Grupa Azoty’s Kędzierzyn-based subsidiary officially opens new Research and Development Centre

Grupa Azoty ZAK’s Research and Development Centre has officially launched its operations in Kędzierzyn-Koźle. The project worth PLN 39m will significantly enhance the research and development capabilities of the company and the entire Grupa Azoty Group. The opening of the Research and Development Centre is an important part of the Grupa Azoty Group’s strategy that aims to provide high-quality new and improved products and preserve a long-term competitive advantage. EU funding was obtained for the project.

The Research and Development Centre (or CBR II) of Grupa Azoty ZAK is a continuation of the Application and Development Research Laboratory (CBR I). The new facility will allow Grupa Azoty ZAK to expand the scale and scope of its current research, especially in the Segment Oxoplast™. Its activities will contribute to extending the product chain and the processing of basic chemicals into specialty products.

At the Grupa Azoty Group, we consider expanding our R&D infrastructure as a good investment rather than an expenditure. We are Europe’s major fertilizer and chemical company with ambitions to blaze the trail of innovative solutions and technologies both in fertilizers, plastics and chemicals. The launch of the Research and Development Centre in Kędzierzyn-Koźle is another step towards expanding the Grupa Azoty Group’s research and development capabilities, this time with a focus in the area of specialty products in Segment Oxoplast™,’ said Tomasz Hinc, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A.

An in-house research and development centre is definitely something our company needed to realise its full potential. We make high-quality products that help strengthen Grupa Azoty ZAK’s position in its target markets. Now we have gained research infrastructure that will allow us to add new innovative solutions to our product portfolio,’ noted Filip Grzegorczyk, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty ZAK and Vice President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A.

The facility became operational in the second quarter of this year. Commissioning work was carried out in recent months, which involved workspace organisation, equipment assembly, reagent procurement and staff training.

CBR II spans an area in excess of 1,900 square meters and houses ten research laboratories divided into lab units dedicated to condensation processes, pressure processes, polymers and physicochemical testing. The available infrastructure will support the implementation of an extensive research agenda covering the next five years. The research programme run under the agenda focuses primarily on new specialty organic chemical processes and products. The programme comprises eight projects, ranging from laboratory-scale basic research to pilot-scale development projects. Plans are in place to further collaboration with scientific institutions that will provide expert support for the research teams.

The construction of the Research and Development Centre cost PLN 39m, of which about PLN 9.5m was raised by the Company under the Smart Growth Operational Programme.

A video promoting the Research and Development Centre is available HERE.